Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
there were both English and Irish sportsmen present, they re-
fused to continue it. Mace then declared he would give them
further evidence of the gameness of this stag. He then took
the heels off the stag and placed them on a game cock of his
raising, and cut the stag down. This operation required an
Ihour's time, the stag dying while it had hold of the cock's wing.
The was one of the hardest and most savage fighters
father
we When his hold was broken his bills would come
ever saw.
together with a snap, in very savageness and spite. His blows
were hard and strong, and as frequent as the emergency de-
manded.
We have yet got two full brothers of the stag that was cut
125
126 Game Fowls.
The old cock was a light red, with black breast, yellow legs,
and a small top-knot. He stands beautifully upon his pins, and
ordinarily is very tame, but when teased or annoyed becomes
very savage. We first bred him exclusively to large hens, and
the cocks from him are generally six pounds strong weight.
These we continued breeding to large hens (this being the
second generation) and the result shows itself in stags which,
when full grown will show seven pounds. One, particularly
is a dark red, with black breast
noticeable, another is a per-
;
are small and snake like, with necks looking somewhat larger
than they really are because of this fact. They are greatly ad-
mired by English cockers in Eastern Pennsylvania, and are
>^lmost invariably thought exact duplicates of the Bailey stock
one of much celebrity hereabouts.
They are remarkably hard and fast fighters, and are through-
out reliable. They will adorn any cocker's yard, and be a source
of pride to any game fancier.
THE SHIELDS STRAIN.
129
130 Gamt Fowls.
Bailey had but six of his brown reds present, having selected
the others from factory neighborhoods in Chester and Delaware
counties. Bailey reserved those fowls of his own stock to the
last,and when they were reached he was five fights behind in
—
the main the six remaining fights having all to be won in order
131
132 Game Fowls.
to meet and ward it ofi"; but if the other cock lagged for a
moment, the Bailey, ever on the alert, would force the battle
with telling effect.
day would put whisky in his mouth and squirt it over the stag's
bare neck and head so that by the day of the fight the skin
;
Bailey put in his appearance with one of his brown reds in first
rate order, and when he saw the Cuban's fowl asked what had
been done with him ? The answer was that " that was the
Cubian style." Bailey confessed that he did not like the ap-
pearance of things, but concluded he would fight, especially as
his cock weighed a pound more, and had been well trained and
fed ; while the other had been penned up fpr a long time, and
had been kept on corn and water. We were called upon to
heel for the Cuban, he never having seen a gafHe. To this
Bailey demurred, but allowed the arrangement to proceed under
the proviso that we would hold for him while he heeled his own.
The first gaffle he put on was in imitation of our plan, and if
the other had been set in the same way he must have won, but
the other he put on in the old Philadelphia fashion. We warned
him of his error, but he refused to acknowledge it, and when
the fowls first went to work the Bailey did all the fighting,
with little or no execution, and after a time the Cuban's got in
two quick blows and killed him. Bailey still remains uncon-
verted on the question of gafting, and whenever this fight is
referred to says that the cause of his loss was the manner in
which the Cuban had tanned his stag's head and neck. He
affirms that the skin was so tough that his cock could not get
and keep a hold. There was probably some advantage to the
Cuban in this, but we yet believe that the Bailey cock must
have won an easy victory if he had been scientifically heeled.
TflE ESLIN STOCK.
claims for his father the honor of originating the Tartar stock,
and denies the claim set up by Martinsburg, Va. The infor-
mation with regard to the origin of the Tartars, given in the
first or pocket edition on game fowls, was derived from a land-
many and all essential points like the Tartar, and if all ti.e
truth could be reached at this late day, might be shown to be
the same in origin.
10
THE JACK McCLELLAN STRAIN.
ing of the late war, sent to us four cocks and a number of hens, '.
brass on his back, and with green legs. The last was from
McClellan's favorite stock, known as the Old Whitey.
We bred all of these strains with their respective hens ; with
•excellent luck, but found that few ofthem would even gener-
ally adhere to the original color, showing that they had been
produced by crossing. While none of the cocks weighed over
six and a half pounds, and all of them were over five and a
half, some of their progeny reached eight pounds in weight.